Exiles of the Rich and Infamous

By Harriet Barovick Sunday, Jan. 26, 2003
    • With war clouds darkening, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell have floated the idea that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's voluntary exile might be an acceptable alternative to unseating him by force. But what sort of life would that be for a dictator used to a stable of yes-men and all the perks of power and wealth? Not necessarily a bad one, if the fate of most — but not all — exiled despots is any guide.

    IDI AMIN
    Uganda
    The man who ruled for eight murderous years now luxuriates in Saudi Arabia's Jedda, where he enjoys swimming, boxing and practicing the accordion

    MANUEL NORIEGA
    Panama
    The former strongman is serving a 30-year jail sentence in Miami on drug and racketeering charges. He has done 10 years and could be released in 2007

    JEAN-CLAUDE DUVALIER
    Haiti
    He used the Tontons Macoutes, a brutal secret-police force, to exercise control. Now Baby Doc lives comfortably in Paris, worshipping voodoo and studying solar energy

    ALFREDO STROESSNER
    Paraguay
    After a 1989 coup ended his 35-year dictatorship, he hightailed it to Brazil, where he lives a luxurious life, with his wife, in a mansion outside the capital of Brasilia

    MENGISTU HAILE MARIAM
    Ethiopia
    He eliminated the opposition in a campaign known as the Red Terror, and he now lives in relative serenity in Harare, Zimbabwe